


PFLAG: Storybrooke Chapter

by ellacj



Series: 52 Weeks of Swan Queen [19]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Fluff and Angst, Mostly Fluff, happy mother's day kids, lil bit of crack, pflag parenting, sisters!!!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-11
Updated: 2015-05-11
Packaged: 2018-03-30 00:53:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3917116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ellacj/pseuds/ellacj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness."</p><p>-Honore de Balzac</p>
            </blockquote>





	PFLAG: Storybrooke Chapter

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place during canon as of 4x20 "Mother", with some slight, de-angstified alterations. 
> 
> Because I need Regina and Zelena to be cute sisters.

Emma smiles as the waitress sets down another cup of coffee in front of her – or maybe it’s more of a grimace. “You think it’s too early to get some whiskey?” she laughs nervously, waiting impatiently for her drink to cool. “Happy Mother’s Day,” she adds in a mutter.

What the _fuck_ was she thinking, telling her parents she had a girlfriend? Are she and Regina even using the world ‘girlfriend’? It seems a bit juvenile to describe Regina, and yet, she said it. And now Snow and David are staring at her across the table as though she’s just told them she’s having an alien baby; as though the very idea of her dating a woman is absolutely unfathomable.

“So, how long have you been with this woman?” Snow asks.

Emma shifts uncomfortably in her seat, fingers fidgeting under the table and her jacket suddenly suffocating her. “A while,” she mutters. “Six months.”

“And you never told us?”

“We were afraid you wouldn’t be too happy.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Snow’s face softens. “You know we love you no matter what, right? Gay or straight or anything else.”

Emma smiles weakly. “I didn’t think you’d be upset about me dating a woman. I was more afraid you wouldn’t like me dating _this_ woman.”

Snow frowns. “Who are you dating?”

With a heavy sigh, Emma clenches her hands together and prepares herself for the shitstorm surely approaching. “Regina.”

 

Regina lets the door to the cell fall shut behind her and draws her jacket around her against the cold. “Get dressed,” she says, holding out the bag of clothes she brought with her.

Zelena furrows her brow. “Why?”

“It’s Mother’s Day.”

“So? Taking me on a field trip? Going to lecture me on the responsibilities of motherhood?”

Regina rolls her eyes. “I’m taking you to visit Mother’s grave.”

Zelena sobers quickly, accepting the bag without her usual snark. “Could I have some privacy?” Her voice is soft, smaller than Regina’s ever heard it.

Regina turns around, stomach churning at the day ahead of her. It’s not her first Mother’s Day without a mother, but it’s her first one having someone with whom to share her loss. She smiles tightly when Zelena’s finished, dressed in the same cardigan she came to town in paired with dark jeans in some semblance of formal wear. “Ready?” she asks.

“I suppose so.”

With a wave of her hand Regina poofs them to the cemetery in a cloud of purple smoke, and Zelena takes in the mausoleum with eyes widened in awe and a touch of fear.

“Nervous?” Regina says gently, reaching out to touch Zelena’s arm in an attempt at comfort. She’s still new at the whole sister thing, after all.

Zelena doesn’t answer. Instead, she shrugs away from Regina’s touch and walks toward the crypt with hesitant steps. “Mother is buried inside here?” she breathes.

“Yes. And my father.”

“I didn’t know you lost your father.” Zelena turns to face her, eyes reflecting something close to sympathy. “Was he a good man?”

“He was.” Regina avoids Zelena’s eyes. “He was a coward, but he had a good heart.”

Zelena nods. “I fear that neither of my fathers were good men,” she murmurs, then shakes her head, throwing her walls back into place. “Shall we go in?”

Regina opens the doors with a touch of her hand and steps inside, heart racing. She truly has no idea how Zelena will react to seeing their mother’s burial place. She really hopes she doesn’t end up regretting this. “It’s this way,” she says, leading her sister down the stairs and ever deeper into the heart of everything she’s lost.

 

“You’re dating Regina.” David’s voice is thick, and he’s shaking his head back and forth as though he can’t quite believe it. “Why?”

Emma raises her eyebrows. “Why? You’ve _seen_ her, right?”

“Emma…” David drops his head into his hands. “I just don’t understand what you could possibly see in the Evil Queen.”

“For one thing, she’s not evil anymore. She’s saved our lives a million times. And she’s the mother of my son, and I say again, have you _seen_ her?”

“Well, we support you,” Snow cuts in. “Whole-heartedly, one hundred percent. We’re going to do whatever we can to ensure you know that, right, David?”

“Mom, you don’t have to-”

“No, Emma, I have to make sure you know that I love you _no matter what_. Do you know that Storybrooke doesn’t even have a PFLAG chapter? I mean, what is this, 1957?” Snow’s voice is growing higher pitched with every sentence, and her grip on David’s hand looks utterly painful.

Emma sighs and finishes off her third cup of coffee with one last swallow. “Look, Mom, I don’t want you to go all crazy about this, okay? All I want is to know that you’re not gonna threaten Regina or anything and we can all live in peace.”

Snow shakes her head. “You can’t be the only member of the LBGTQIA+ community in Storybrooke, Emma. I’m going to make history and start up a PFLAG chapter here.” she glances up at the waitress. “Check, please.”

 

Zelena’s quiet, for the most part. She simply stands with her hands clasped in front of her, face unreadable as she gazes at the gold coffin full of hopes that were torn from her before they were even fully formed.

“What are you thinking?” Regina murmurs.

“Mother loved you. Didn’t she?”

Regina sighs. “She didn’t have her heart when she was raising me. But she had it just before she died, and right then… I think she did.”

Zelena turns to face her, and her eyes are wide and she looks utterly vulnerable. “She loved you, and she still did all those things to you.”

“Yes.”

“What if…” Zelena trails off and brings a hand to rest on her stomach, just beginning to swell. “I don’t want to do the same thing to this baby.”

Regina’s jaw tenses. Just because she’s not with Robin anymore doesn’t mean she likes seeing her sister pregnant with his child. Even still, she has to offer her support, because how can Zelena change her ways without someone on her side? “Our mother’s mistakes aren’t genetic. And yours aren’t enough to prevent you from being a good mother.”

“How did you do it? You were the Evil Queen, and yet your son looks at you with such adoration…” she breaks off to take her bottom lip between her teeth and glance at the floor. “All I’ve ever wanted has been revenge. I don’t know how to do anything else, much less raise a child.”

Regina reaches forward before she can change her mind, taking Zelena’s hand and squeezing gently. “No one does their first time. When Henry first came home he fussed about everything, and I thought it was me. I thought he hated me.” She smiles. “It turns out he was just acting like any baby would at that age. You’ll learn from experience.”

Zelena wraps her free arm around herself, chewing harder on her lip and gripping Regina’s hand as though a life preserver in a churning sea. “Will you help me?” she whispers. “I can’t do this alone.”

Regina grins. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure you and your baby are happy.”

 

That afternoon, Emma kisses Regina like she’s been stranded in a desert and Regina’s the first drink of cold water she’s had in weeks. “So,” she says between kisses. “I told my parents about us.”

“What’d they say?”

Emma smirks against Regina’s lips. “My dad’s still kind of confused about the exact nature of our relationship.”

Regina chuckles softly, pressing her lips to Emma’s once again. “And your mother?”

“She’s starting a PFLAG chapter in Storybrooke.”

Regina breaks the kiss to burst into laughter. She buries her face in Emma’s shoulder as her entire frame is racked with giggles, and the sound is absolutely musical to Emma’s ears. “Is she really going to do that?” she says when she’s finally calmed down enough to speak.

“God, I hope not.” Emma runs a hand through her hair, mussed by Regina’s fingers tangled in it. “How was hanging out with your sister?”

“It was actually quite interesting.” Regina pulls herself out from beneath Emma to sit up, crossing her legs on the couch. “She’s going to raise her baby. And she wants my help.”

Emma’s eyebrows shoot upward. “Wow. That’s big.”

Regina nods slowly. “I think this baby’s made her really want to change.”

“Well, she’s lucky to have you on her side.”

Before Regina can reply, her cell phone rings, and she picks it up, hitting the speaker button. “Hello?”

 _“Regina, it’s Snow_ ,” the voice on the other end says. _“Is Emma with you?”_

“Yes, she’s right here. You’re on speakerphone, by the way.”

 _“Perfect. I have great news for you both_. _”_

Regina arches one eyebrow, turning to Emma with a questioning smile. “And what’s that?”

_“You’re both invited to the first official meeting of Storybrooke’s PFLAG chapter this Tuesday. I’m making brownies!”_

“That sounds excellent, Snow,” Regina says, and Emma hopes that her mother can’t hear Regina trying her best not to laugh. “We’ll be there.”

_“Bring something to eat, if you can. I’m expecting a big turnout!”_

“I’ll throw something together. Thank you for the invite.” Regina hangs up the phone, turning to Emma and falling into giggles all over again.

Emma grins. “So, what are you making?”

Regina’s eyes twinkle. “I was thinking apple turnovers.”

“Jesus, you’re terrible.”

“Yes, but you love me anyway.” Regina’s smile vanishes to be replaced by an expression of uncertainty as she realizes what she’s just said, but Emma only smiles wider and leans over to kiss her softly on the lips.

“Yeah, I do.”


End file.
